Among the moments she relishes is her daughter crawling in bed with her, and they hold each other. Among her few regrets is the inability to help her daughter pick out a prom dress.

"Her prom is coming up, and I can't pick out a gown, so I really hope she picks out something appropriate to wear. I hope she has a good time there," Nash said.

When outside her hospital room, she wears a hat and veil, usually made from a handkerchief attached to the brim of a straw hat.

Nash said she wears the veil "so I don't scare people. And sometimes other people might insult you."

Hopes to Be Independent

She said she hopes to one day be out of the hospital and more independent.

"Before, I was always really independent," she said. "I wanted to be alone. I want to be independent, but I don't want to be alone anymore."

Nash has filed a civil suit against Herold, seeking $50 million in damages for pain and suffering.

The chimp's owner claims that Nash was her employee at the time of the attack and is entitled to file only a workmen's compensation claim, which would greatly limit the amount of money she could receive.

Nash told Winfrey that taking care of the ape was not part of her job, and she was frightened to even be around the animal.

"I do remember going to feed him a couple of times," she said. "He was big and scary. He was huge."

Travis, she said, was Herold's pet and not part of Desire Me Motors, the towing company Herold ran out of her home.

"It was her pet that she wanted for a companion. ... If she had to rush out or couldn't come home, I fed him," Nash said.

Chimp Had Starred in TV Ads

Nash said the chimp was usually kept in a cage, and when it had been allowed outside as a baby, years earlier, he had ripped the hair from her scalp, causing her to tear up and Herold to laugh at the incident.

The 15-year-old chimp, killed by cops, had starred in an Old Navy television commercial advertising cargo shorts. He reportedly enjoyed surfing the Internet and could change the channels on the television using a remote control.

The chimpanzee was sometimes taken out of his room-size cage to eat meals sitting at the dinner table with Herold, and occasionally drank wine from a wineglass.

On the day of the attack, Travis had eaten a meal of fish and chips and Carvel ice cream. He became agitated because he wasn't allowed to go for a car ride.

Herold had said she gave the chimp the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, but later retracted that statement.

Even though Travis had lived with Herold for 14 years, and she had called the pet her son, she put her friend first.

"I stabbed him … and he looked up at me like, 'Why'd you do that, mom?'" Herold said. "I touched him, and I told him I was sorry."

Herold's attorney released a statement saying, "All of Sandy's hopes and prayers are with Charla and her daughter in this challenging time."

Police at the time of the attack speculated that a previous bout with Lyme disease may have accounted for the animal's reported mood swings.

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